Very roughly speaking, representation theory studies symmetry in linear spaces. It is a beautiful mathematical subject which has many applications, ranging from number theory and combinatorics to geometry, probability theory, quantum mechanics, and quantum field theory. The goal of this book is to give a ``holistic'' introduction to representation theory, presenting it as a unified subject which studies representations of associative algebras and treating the representation theories of groups, Lie algebras, and quivers as special cases. Using this approach, the book covers a number of standard topics in the representation theories of these structures. Theoretical material in the book is supplemented by many problems and exercises which touch upon a lot of additional topics; the more difficult exercises are provided with hints. The book is designed as a textbook for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students. It should be accessible to students with a strong background in linear algebra and a basic knowledge of abstract algebra.

This graduate-level text provides a thorough grounding in the representation theory of finite groups over fields and rings. The book provides a balanced and comprehensive account of the subject, detailing the methods needed to analyze representations that arise in many areas of mathematics. Key topics include the construction and use of character tables, the role of induction and restriction, projective and simple modules for group algebras, indecomposable representations, Brauer characters, and block theory. This classroom-tested text provides motivation through a large number of worked examples, with exercises at the end of each chapter that test the reader's knowledge, provide further examples and practice, and include results not proven in the text. Prerequisites include a graduate course in abstract algebra, and familiarity with the properties of groups, rings, field extensions, and linear algebra.

Introducing finite-dimensional representations of Lie groups and Lie algebras, this example-oriented book works from representation theory of finite groups, through Lie groups and Lie algrbras to the finite dimensional representations of the classical groups.

This book is intended to present group representation theory at a level accessible to mature undergraduate students and beginning graduate students. This is achieved by mainly keeping the required background to the level of undergraduate linear algebra, group theory and very basic ring theory. Module theory and Wedderburn theory, as well as tensor products, are deliberately avoided. Instead, we take an approach based on discrete Fourier Analysis. Applications to the spectral theory of graphs are given to help the student appreciate the usefulness of the subject. A number of exercises are included. This book is intended for a 3rd/4th undergraduate course or an introductory graduate course on group representation theory. However, it can also be used as a reference for workers in all areas of mathematics and statistics.

This book is designed to introduce the reader to the theory of semisimple Lie algebras over an algebraically closed field of characteristic 0, with emphasis on representations. A good knowledge of linear algebra (including eigenvalues, bilinear forms, euclidean spaces, and tensor products of vector spaces) is presupposed, as well as some acquaintance with the methods of abstract algebra. The first four chapters might well be read by a bright undergraduate; however, the remaining three chapters are admittedly a little more demanding. Besides being useful in many parts of mathematics and physics, the theory of semisimple Lie algebras is inherently attractive, combining as it does a certain amount of depth and a satisfying degree of completeness in its basic results. Since Jacobson's book appeared a decade ago, improvements have been made even in the classical parts of the theory. I have tried to incor porate some of them here and to provide easier access to the subject for non-specialists. For the specialist, the following features should be noted: (I) The Jordan-Chevalley decomposition of linear transformations is emphasized, with "toral" subalgebras replacing the more traditional Cartan subalgebras in the semisimple case. (2) The conjugacy theorem for Cartan subalgebras is proved (following D. J. Winter and G. D. Mostow) by elementary Lie algebra methods, avoiding the use of algebraic geometry.

Representation theory is an important part of modern mathematics, not only as a subject in its own right but also as a tool for many applications. It provides a means for exploiting symmetry, making it particularly useful in number theory, algebraic geometry, and differential geometry, as well as classical and modern physics. The goal of this book is to present, in a motivated manner, the basic formalism of representation theory as well as some important applications. The style is intended to allow the reader to gain access to the insights and ideas of representation theory--not only to verify that a certain result is true, but also to explain why it is important and why the proof is natural. The presentation emphasizes the fact that the ideas of representation theory appear, sometimes in slightly different ways, in many contexts. Thus the book discusses in some detail the fundamental notions of representation theory for arbitrary groups. It then considers the special case of complex representations of finite groups and discusses the representations of compact groups, in both cases with some important applications. There is a short introduction to algebraic groups as well as an introduction to unitary representations of some noncompact groups. The text includes many exercises and examples.

Introducing the representation theory of groups and finite dimensional algebras, first studying basic non-commutative ring theory, this book covers the necessary background on elementary homological algebra and representations of groups up to block theory. It further discusses vertices, defect groups, Green and Brauer correspondences and Clifford theory. Whenever possible the statements are presented in a general setting for more general algebras, such as symmetric finite dimensional algebras over a field. Then, abelian and derived categories are introduced in detail and are used to explain stable module categories, as well as derived categories and their main invariants and links between them. Group theoretical applications of these theories are given – such as the structure of blocks of cyclic defect groups – whenever appropriate. Overall, many methods from the representation theory of algebras are introduced. Representation Theory assumes only the most basic knowledge of linear algebra, groups, rings and fields and guides the reader in the use of categorical equivalences in the representation theory of groups and algebras. As the book is based on lectures, it will be accessible to any graduate student in algebra and can be used for self-study as well as for classroom use.

Offers an introduction to four different flavours of representation theory: representations of algebras, groups, Lie algebras, and Hopf algebras. A separate part of the book is devoted to each of these areas and they are all treated in sufficient depth to enable the reader to pursue research in representation theory.

This book reproduces the doctoral thesis written by a remarkable mathematician, Sergei V. Kerov. His untimely death at age 54 left the mathematical community with an extensive body of work and this one-of-a-kind monograph. Here, he gives a clear and lucid account of results and methods of asymptotic representation theory. The book is a unique source of information on an important topic of current research. Asymptotic representation theory of symmetric groups deals with problems of two types: asymptotic properties of representations of symmetric groups of large order and representations of the limiting object, i.e., the infinite symmetric group. The author contributed significantly in the development of both directions. His book presents an account of these contributions, as well as those of other researchers. Among the problems of the first type, the author discusses the properties of the distribution of the normalized cycle length in a random permutation and the limiting shape of a random (with respect to the Plancherel measure) Young diagram. He also studies stochastic properties of the deviations of random diagrams from the limiting curve. Among the problems of the second type, Kerov studies an important problem of computing irreducible characters of the infinite symmetric group. This leads to the study of a continuous analog of the notion of Young diagram, and in particular, to a continuous analogue of the hook walk algorithm, which is well known in the combinatorics of finite Young diagrams. In turn, this construction provides a completely new description of the relation between the classical moment problems of Hausdorff and Markov. The book is suitable for graduate students and research mathematicians interested in representation theory and combinatorics.

This textbook introduces the representation theory of algebras by focusing on two of its most important aspects: the Auslander–Reiten theory and the study of the radical of a module category. It starts by introducing and describing several characterisations of the radical of a module category, then presents the central concepts of irreducible morphisms and almost split sequences, before providing the definition of the Auslander–Reiten quiver, which encodes much of the information on the module category. It then turns to the study of endomorphism algebras, leading on one hand to the definition of the Auslander algebra and on the other to tilting theory. The book ends with selected properties of representation-finite algebras, which are now the best understood class of algebras. Intended for graduate students in representation theory, this book is also of interest to any mathematician wanting to learn the fundamentals of this rapidly growing field. A graduate course in non-commutative or homological algebra, which is standard in most universities, is a prerequisite for readers of this book.